KEARNEY — The Nebraska Department of Transportation and the Nebraska State Patrol hosted a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 15, celebrating the signing of a memorandum of understanding between central Nebraska first responders.
The event celebrated, “the formalizing of Traffic Incident Management (TIM) partnerships in Central Nebraska and the group’s progress in moving TIM initiatives forward to improve safety, reliability, and efficiency on the region’s roadways and Crash Responder Safety Week which began Nov. 13 and runs through Nov. 17,” per the NDOT.
The MOU was signed between first responders from Buffalo, Hall, Kearney and Adams counties.
Colonel John Bolduc, NSP Superintendent of Law Enforcement and Public Safety, spoke during the event.
“NDOT Traffic Incident Management program has been in place since 2012, with increased emphasis in 2020,” Bolduc said, “TIM is a critical tool helping responders get on scene, assist crash victims, get them on to the nearest emergency or trauma center, while also helping to clear the scene quickly and safely.”
Since 2012, there have been 96 after action reviews through TIM with over 700 unique participants. The collaboration helps to make Nebraska roads safer, Bolduc said.
The quicker a scene can be cleared, the sooner patients can be transported to receive the car they need and cut down on the number of secondary accidents that occur in the area, said Bolduc.
When asked how exactly the TIM system helps keep first responders safe, Bolduc said the training helps them take scene security seriously, be highly visible on scene and the quick clearance helps to cut down on the secondary accidents.
“The (traffic) volume doesn’t change just because there is a crash,” Bolduc said, “That is where we really need the publics help to avoid distraction, focus on the one thing you are supposed to be doing, you have one job – drive.”
Bolduc also said the after-action reviews help to reveal lessons from accident scenes, what worked, what needs addressed and how to work with and help educate the public better.
When asked about seatbelt education, Bolduc said that most fatalities on the roadway involve unbuckled drivers and passengers.
“The same things are killing people every week on the highways,” Bolduc said, “Unbuckled passengers, excessive speed, impaired and distracted driving. These same things are causing death and destruction on our highways.”
Wes Wahlgren, NDOT District 4 Engineer, said TIM is not a new concept and has been used in metro areas for years.
What is different is how Nebraska is approaching the concept, Wahlgren said, adding that the signing of the MOU reflects the growth of the effort and the growth of the culture of safety.
Wahlgren offered advice to drivers, first was to stay off their cellphones and focus one hundred percent on their primary task – driving. He also said that buckling up is a key action to help cut down on traffic fatalities.
Chief Bryan Waugh, Kearney Police Department, said the signing of the MOU was a great moment for Kearney and for all agencies across the state.
Waugh said he had been involved with TIM since its inception while with law enforcement in the metro Omaha area. “I saw the benefits of it with that agency,” he said.
This multi-discipline approach, involving law enforcement, NDOT, tow truck drivers, fire departments, etc., helps to increase safety at accident scenes on the highways and roadways, Waugh said.
Chief Brad Starling, Hastings Fire Department, said he has 27 years of experience responding to roadway incidents that has included serious injury and death to bystanders, tow professionals and law enforcement members.
“I have seen fire trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, police cars, transportation equipment and private vehicles struck by distracted drivers on the road,” Starling said.
During his comments, Starling held up his arm to show a wristband that he wears in memory of a friend and mentor that was struck and killed while working a traffic accident on the interstate.
“TIM is not just important to me, its personal,” Starling said.
First responders’ most pressing demand at an accident scene is safety, Starling said, safety of the victims, of their fellow responders and that of the traveling public.
This overall drive for safety is not just based on partnerships, Starling said, but systems like TIM. He said the MOU shows the commitment of the responders to this critical system.
Justin Hubley, NAPE/AFSCME Executive Director, said their union represents over 8,000 front line state employees and over 500 highway workers who serve all 93 counties in Nebraska.
He said close calls happen every day and tragically, there have been two NDOT in the line of duty deaths in Hamilton and Custer counties.
Hubley said everyone who sets out for work in the morning deserves to come home to their families each night. With the NDOT, it’s not just the pack between employer and employee but also with the motoring public.
Some common sense reminders Hubley shared were to move over and slow down when approaching an accident scene or construction zone.
He also repeatedly told people to put down their phones while driving, to save the business for later, or if it is that pressing, to pull over in a safe location and then handle things.
With winter just around the corner, Hubley also asked drivers to give snowplows extra space on the roadway.
Hubley said his “plea,” to the public was to help keep the first responders safe while on the roadways.
